In terms of the so-called human development, measured by the Human Development Index, in comparison to the average HDI for Serbia which was 0.811 in 2005, ZR belongs to the group of regions with a medium HDI. Of all the municipalities in Serbia which are, according to many surveys, ’undesirable for living’, there are two in ZR, i.e. Prijepolje and Priboj.

ZR also has a better educational structure in comparison to the Republic profile. The number of employed people has alternatively increased and decreased. According to the 2006 data, there are 70,806 employed people (women make 40.8%). The lowest percentage of employed women is in the municipality of Arilje – 35.9%, and the highest is in the municipality of Cajetina 50.1%. The percentage of the employed people in Zlatibor Region at the level of the Republic of Serbia is 3.4%.

The number of unemployed people increased considerably in the period until 2003, and from 2003 to 2006 this growth was below 1%. In 2005, the number of unemployed people was 43,708, in 2006 it was 43,754, and in 2007 it was 37,822. The sudden increase in unemployment reduction occurred not because of the employment growth but because of the changes in legal regulations (in the past, unemployed people had to be registered at the National employment agency in order to get their health insurance, which is not the case any more).

The unemployment rate in 2006 was 38.19% and it was determined by the number of unemployed people in the total number of employed and unemployed people in the municipalities of Zlatibor Region. The municipality of Sjenica has the highest unemployment rate, 61.71%, and the municipality of Čajetina has the lowest unemployment rate, 20.64%. There are 37,822 unemployed people (2007 statistics taken from the NEA).